Calligraphy wedding vows

Oh boy, I am always honored to be asked to calligraphy wedding vows that will be hung in a new couples home. Usually, I work with past couples to make it a year anniversary gift (because the first anniversary is a “paper” anniversary).

This type of work can be very detailed and usually involves math, drafts and extra paper for the inevitable ink splatter or skipped word. Here are a few photos from the process!  Usually, I suggest allowing plenty of time for this time of custom order.  Since we want this original heirloom piece to be perfect.  Typical turn around time is approximately 4 weeks.

The first way to start is with a ruler and calculator.  I line my x-height as well as the borders I want to keep for framing.  It also helps my eyes out and rule a few centering lines to work from on the draft and so I know how much movement needs to happen in the final piece.

The 2 pieces are actually ruled with the same x-height and with the same spacing.  I just had to skip lines for the less dense text to make sure it filled the page the same.  Lucky for me the rhythm of text worked out nicely for this approach to the density problem.

These were large! 16×20 in size using gold ink and my Mitty caps script. There was a difference in length for each piece so I adjusted the spacing to make them look a bit more balanced and equally “full”.

I finished the final calligraphy wedding vows off by hand tearing the soft cotton paper for fluffy edges. The result was lovely!